Life of a Lounge Lizard

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4th season - "lost"
2008-06-08 21:55:00
well, here I am. it is about 3am in the morning here in bangkok, thailand. I just finished watching the 3rd episode of season 4 of the "lost" tv series. I can barely keep my eyes open for need of sleep. my back hurts. and I feel a little dizzy from watching continuously around 24 episodes of "lost" in a row.I think I truly need to take a break from watching this stuff.but my mind keeps going back to "lost". charlie just died. and that asshole, ben linus, shot charlotte with a gun that he took off karl. and I'm wondering what will happen next.my mind is swirling around, but for some reason, I want to stick the next dvd into the machine and watch another 3 episodes. but my body is telling me to take a break. go to sleep, bro.and I think I will now.I'm tired. I can continue tomorrow.thank god there is only another 20 episodes of "lost" to watch.
More About: Lost , Season

addicted.
2008-06-08 03:20:00
yesterday, the plan was to take a break from "lost". take in a little of the lobby and the parking lot. but what actually happened was an all day all night marathon watching "lost".guess how many episodes of "lost" I watched yesterday?I finished all of season 2, and am about 25% through season 3. I watched boone, shannon, ana lucia, and libby all get beat up, cut up, and pretty much taken out.I saw the supernatural black smoke circle mr. eko, and not kill him. I watched the "hatch" implode. saw the "others". etc.so, what is next, you ask? another all day all night marathon? perhaps an all week marathon?in front of me, I have the whole series of "prison break", "heroes", and "lost". EVERY FU#KING YEAR. the whole shabang. the other day, I finished heroes. now, I am about half way through lost. yet to be seen - prison break.I know the watcher has the entire series for "boston legal", "house", "the office", "numbers", "battlestar gallactica", and "the family guy".enough to kee...
More About: Addicted

all day with "lost".
2008-06-06 15:09:00
last month or thereabouts, I spent a couple of days watching the first season of the "heroes" tv series on dvd. today, I finished watching the second season of "heroes", and have started up on the first season of the "lost" tv series.altogether, I spent like 11 hours today watching all these episodes. watching this stuff is really addicting. I am currently about midway through the first season of "lost", and I have ALL 4 seasons on dvd.will I go to the lobby tonight??probably not. I want to finish up on the first season of "lost" tonight. another 4 hours of constantly being glued to the tv. hehehe.tomorrow, I think I will take a break from "lost", and go out for a little.got to get back to the 1st season of "lost" now.
More About: Lost

the lobby was empty tonight.
2008-06-05 19:40:00
after being gone for about 2 weeks, I was finally able to make it back to the lobby tonight. I expected to see some familiar faces sitting there as it is friday night. but as it turned out, not a single soul was to be found. not a single lounge lizard could be found sitting in the soft seats. ..very odd.I went outside to hang out in the parking lot when I didn't see anyone in the lobby. thank god there were some lounge lizards out there. I saw the bookkeeper, jacques cousteau, and the silver surfer.the silver surfer told me that the scene has been pretty dead since I left for china. we spoke at length about nothing. but alas the silver surfer had to leave to take care of business.the last lounge lizard that I saw for the night was boris. he was gone for 2 months. but back in bangkok now. I mentioned to boris that the lobby doesn't seem to be the same anymore. and he agreed. he then told me that "something" happened nearby that may be the reason for the low turnouts. ...
More About: Tonight , Empty

a thank you note.
2008-06-05 03:40:00
one of my anonymous readers sent me the above weather chart on both bangkok and guangzhou. and I want to thank him or her for assisting me in my decision on how to split my time each year between these two places.well, now I have to analyze the numbers and think about it a little. ..but not right now. I just woke up. and normally, I am a little dizzy plus a little hungry when I do. first things first. food! and then, shower! everything else takes a backseat.on the agenda today - pay the rent, buy some groceries, and of course, the loooobby tonight.
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cleaning up day.
2008-06-04 15:43:00
today was chore day. as was expected, I slept until the afternoon. got up, and immediately started doing laundry. 4 loads later, and it is now about 9pm at night. while waiting for the laundry to get done, I spent the time watching dvd movies. mostly asian hits like the forbidden kingdom, nanking, kungfu hustle, etc.received an email from the watcher. it seems he will be living in changping part of the year as he has put a deposit down already for a place there. I still have plans to stay part of the year each year in china. but I haven't decided yet on how many months each year or where in china...the watcher has offered to let me hold me up for up to 3 weeks at his place until I find my own place. and that is an offer that is hard to refuse. I will try to get my other buddy, mike jagger, to join us. who knows, maybe even da brain will be interested to tag along for the journey. there is a very good chance that changping will my first homebase in my journey in china.you...
More About: Cleaning

back in bangkok.
2008-06-04 01:13:00
I'm back! tired as hell. it is about 7am now. I got a glimpse of shenzhen in my journey from changping to the shenzhen airport. shenzhen looks like san francisco in appearance - clean, and modern. I was quite impressed by the infrastructure.it feels good to be back. but I am so tired, I need to get some sleep now.
More About: Bangkok , Back

at shenzhen airport.
2008-06-03 14:37:00
learning the ropes... rather than take the taxi direct from changping to the shenzhen airport, I tried another route. I took a special bus that departs from the new century hotel in changping that goes directly to the shenzhen train terminal - no stops. it just so happens that the place where the shenzhen train terminal is - is also the place where the shenzhen metro is. ..and where the shenzhen bus terminal is. AND more importantly, ALSO where the shenzhen airport shuttle bus terminal is.in fact, not more than 50 feet from where I departed from the special bus was where the airport shuttle buses all line up.this information should be of benefit to those who plan on traveling between changping and the shenzhen airport. everybody I have spoken to in changping told me that the only way to get to the shenzhen airport was to either take the bread taxi or a regular taxi. cost would range from 240 rmb to 350 rmb.the special bus from the new century hotel in changping costs 36 rmb. ...
More About: Airport

bangkok beckons...
2008-06-03 00:51:00
today is the last day of my trip to china. it's about 7am in the morning right now. woke up for a minute. still need some sleep before getting up and checking out. no plans for today other than meeting up with the watcher one more time before going to the bus terminal at the new century hotel. 36 rmb to go to shenzhen train station from changping. from there, I plan to take another bus or taxi to the shenzhen airport. I read somewhere that a taxi from the shenzhen train station will cost you like 40 rmb. I decided to take this route rather than go directly to the shenzhen airport from changping because I want to get familiar with the shenzhen metro and train station for my next trip in a few months time. this will also give me the opportunity to buy more maps to study. I hope they have some travel maps in english of my father's home town in toisan.changing the subject...yesterday was pretty much a day of looking at apartments. we must have spent like 5 hours of checking...
More About: Bangkok

mr. lion went home today.
2008-06-02 10:07:00
would you believe it if I told you the sun came out today in changping? yes, it did. not only did the sun come out. it was downright hot.I woke up at around 9am. and immediately went out to look around. being basically my last day and all, I wanted to get some more glimpses of the city before traveling onward. walked over to the backside of my hotel. saw a mcdonalds back there. so, I had to have a snack before moving on. after mcD, went to this bridge, and then, turned back.after the little walk, I went back to my hotel to start packing things for tomorrow. being a boy scout, I always feel better if everything is where they should be.around noon, I met up with the watcher and mr. lion for lunch at the muslim noodle place. ate until we were full. mr.lion was planning on leaving changping after lunch. and so he did, we saw him off at the lowu special bus stop near the new century hotel.after mr. lion left, the watcher went over to the atm. and just like that, he withdrew...
More About: Home , Today , Lion

the countdown to departure.
2008-06-02 03:33:00
the clock is showing about 9am now. just woke up. after some thought, I've decided to stay in huayu hotel one more day - my last day. it would be nice to try out another hotel, but I am too lazy to move. I even thought of going down to shenzhen to stay in a hotel down there for a night. but the old lounge lizard habits come out, and I just want to veg. be laid back so to speak.I was awake most of the night watching some dvd movies I purchased the other day. during the night, I heard some strange voices coming from the next room. to the peanut gallery... no, it wasn't the sounds of love making. nor did I think there is a ghost next door. naah... forget it. it probably was nothing.anyway, so, now that I have made the decision to stay my last day here, I guess I'll slowly pack up my things in preparation for the trip back to bangkok.I like changping, but there are so many other places in dongguan to consider. I was doing some reading on a few places in dongguan city that...
More About: Countdown , Departure

taking it all in.
2008-06-01 16:42:00
just woke up from a power nap. my watch shows almost 11pm at night. wow. slept like 5 hours. now, that is a power nap. running around getting information, and getting drenched in the rain really got me tired.missed out on this party thing that the watcher, mr. lion, and a couple of other new friends went too. that's ok. I rather have my health than party. may sound weird, but that's me.anyway, since it is late at night now. and I have some energy and nowhere to go. what's the plan?I could go check out some girly places and oogle some girls. OR I could go to mcDonalds and get me some food.so, what the verdict? what will my decision be, you ask?it's a no-brainer, people. it's going to be mcDonalds for some food.after I'm full. return to my hotel room, and play some computer games. tomorrow will be my second to last day here. I paid for 8 days lounging already. now, I got to decide whether I should stay the remaining day here in huayu hotel, or check out the luck...
More About: Taking

it is raining.
2008-06-01 11:02:00
it is raining in changping, dongguan, china. I am currently in my room resting. spent the whole day walking around in the rain looking for information on the city.the first bit of info that I tried to obtain by asking around the city was - is there a bus that goes directly from changping to the shenzhen airport?after a long search, could not find anybody who knew. so, I guess there isn't one.alternate routes to a direct bus from changping to the shenzhen airport include the following...1) bus from changping to shenzhen (lo wu), and then, bus to shenzhen airport.2) train from changping via the dongguan train stop to the shenzhen train stop. and then, a bus from the shenzhen train stop to the shenzhen airport.3) bus from changping to dongguan city bus terminal where they have a shenzhen airport shuttle. shuttle to airport.4) and of course, the taxi.taxi is the fastest and most expensive of the 4 above options to get from changping to the shenzhen airport. if you go by taxi mete...
More About: Raining

apartments outside of town.
2008-05-31 19:41:00
the weather was not too good today. pretty much rained all day off and on. so, it put a damper on everything.even so, the watcher and I still kept to our schedule. meet up with mr. lion, and his friends for a chat. then, met up with one of the real estate agents and checked out some apartments for rent about a 10 minute bus ride away.the apartments were immaculate. if you check out my pics on flickr.com, you can see for yourself what they look like.after looking at a number of the apartments, we called it a day. because the real estate agent spent so much time with us, the watcher and I decided to treat her to dinner. she said she liked thai food. so, thai food it was.by the time we finished dinner, it was about 8:30pm. talk about tired. the watcher and I still managed to check out the parking lot. but that was pretty much all she wrote.it's about 2am now. and I am about ready to sleep.life is good.
More About: Apartments , Town

apartments.
2008-05-31 03:48:00
yesterday, the watcher and I continued our search for apartments. we checked out like 10 more. and we will be checking out some more today. we encountered some problems with the real estate agents. but I've decided to overlook those problems for now.yesterday, we looked at apartments nearby our hotels. today, the plan is to look at places 10 minutes away. according to the real estate agents, there are many available. hearing that, I am looking forward to having a looksee.changing the subject....other things on the itinerary for today include looking into this bus that is suppose to go from one of the hotels here to shenzhen. basically, I want to find out how to take the local, and long distance buses. I found some websites that mention of buses, but no comprehensive site that provides you schedules and route maps.http://www.toandfromtheairport.com/g uangdong.html#SZXhttp://www.travelchinagu ide.com/cityguides/guangdong/dongguan/tra nsportation/air.htmalso, I want to find out about ava...
More About: Apartments

looking for apartments.
2008-05-29 18:13:00
today was another busy day. got up late. around 11am. met up with the watcher, and we went back to that roast duck over rice place that we ate at the other day. this time I tried their bbq pork over rice dish. talk about a deal. the cook stacked up on my plate this huge I mean HUGE serving of rice with at least 15 slices of bbq pork. on the side was another large serving of vegetables. hot tea and a little bowl of chicken soup included. the price came to 13 rmb. after finishing the meal, I walked away a happy man.the next thing that we did today was go look up that real estate agent. when we saw him, we asked to look at some apartments. the guy showed us 3 places. all of these apartments are right smack dap in the middle of town. you couldn't get any closer.the first place was a 2 bedroom maybe 100 sqm. unit. hong kong style, basic. had a full size kitchen, living room, 2 bathrooms, and 2 small bedrooms. not the most modern place in town. but it was going for 1400 r...
More About: Apartments

a change in plans.
2008-05-29 03:38:00
originally, my plan for my "china trip 2008" was to visit hong kong, shenzhen, dongguan, and guanzhou. ALL of these places in 10 days.well, here I am writing this post to you and rubbing my sore feet at the same time, ...and it just dawned on me that - there is NO way anybody could see all these places in 10 days.now, wasn't that a brilliant observation?did you know that dongguan has over 6+ million people running around it's borders? and that it is the smallest of the 4 areas that I listed above?6+ MILLION.so, as of now, my focus for this trip will just be changping, dongguan.my current plan is to establish a home here in changping within the next year or so. and once that goal has been achieved, I will then venture out from here to explore other places in china like my father's hometown, sanhe, and guanzhou. at the same time, I really need to learn the mandarin language to get around. another goal to achieve.plans do change for whatever reason. so this current plan might ch...
More About: Change , Plans

ladies of the night.
2008-05-28 22:26:00
most single men have this curiosity to check out the ladies of the night. and I am no different from any other single man. last night, I was going to stay home because of my blisters. but the watcher offered to show me this area of town that I haven't seen yet. and I basically jumped at his offer.hell with the blisters.it was definitely a fun experience for me. besides being pretty, many of the girls we met were tough as nails. my mandarin, and cantonese is very limited. so, talking to them was a problem. we sort of communicated in sign language. you can imagine how awkward and confused I got when the girls and I tried to communicate with one another. it made for some laughing moments. because of the delicate situation that I was in, I tried not to laugh too much because of the possibility that it might be misinterpreted as a sign of disrespect.this went on for a few hours, and in a number of different places. quite invigorating to say the least.the night ended with the ...
More About: Night , Ladies

day 4 - changping, dongguan, china.
2008-05-28 11:21:00
it is about 5:30pm at night here in changping. just finished watching this video entitled "the children of huangshi". based on a true story, it was a tear jerker BUT good.earlier today, the watcher and I went over to this pizza parlor that we saw last night. for 25 rmb, I got a small 6 inch pepperoni pizza. 25 rmb is about $3.50 us dollars. I guess you could argue it is comparable to the prices in the states. and the pizza was good. no argument there. but like I said in my last post, the mom and pop restaurants win hands down.if you had to pick between a big bowl of muslim handmade noodles for 8 rmb, a big plate of fresh roast duck over a big portion of rice with veggies even for 13 rmb, or a 6 inch pepperoni pizza for 25 rmb, which would you pick?for 25 rmb, I could get 3 BIG bowls of the handmade muslim noodles. thats enough to feed 4 people. wow! make that a double wow!anyway, after lunch, we went to a couple of dvd stores to do some window shopping. and that was it f...
More About: China

morning toilet run.
2008-05-28 00:06:00
I woke up to relieve myself. had about 6 hours of sleep so far. my body feels rejuvenated. but my feet are still pretty sore. they are throbbing as I write this post. ugh!after a little thought, I decided that I need to find out how to use the bus system here in changping. you would think that someone with my education background would have figured this out a long time ago. but alas, not all of us are born geniuses.looking at my clock, the time showing is - precisely 6:14am. I feel a little hungry. but am still sleepy. so, it will be back to sleep for a few more hours.before I do, need to write down some notes about last night. ...saw thai restaurant nearby the roast duck cafes. ..saw pizza place in the same area. michelle who is owner of the thai restaurant said they have language schools here in changping where you can learn mandarin at. read that they have a direct bus that leaves nearby the lucky hotel that goes from changping to the shenzhen airport. found a stor...
More About: Morning , Toilet

I hate walking.
2008-05-27 18:22:00
after my last post, I went out to eat dinner with the watcher. we wanted to eat at a new place. so, we started walking in the opposite direction of where we have been exploring the last couple of days.we came across this neighborhood that had many roast duck, and bbq pork sidewalk type of cafes. the roast duck looked so good, I just had to try a dish. talk about delicious, I gobbled it all up like a starving man. some of the best roast duck I've had in a long time. would you believe it if I told you it was better than places I've eaten in san francisco chinatown? yes, it was.after leaving the roast duck place full, we continued walking down some more to see what was there. found a canal with a jogging path alongside it with people jogging around. very romantic in its presentation.the watcher and I must have walked another 5 miles before we got back to his hotel. boy, was I happy to get back. if you include the 8 miles I already walked this morning with these 5 miles toni...
More About: Hate , Walking

I'm back! AND in china!
2008-05-27 13:55:00
hi everybody... sorry for not posting the last couple of days. I experienced a problem with my internet connection. but as you can see, it is ok now.well, to bring you all up-to-date, I'm in china now. YEA!!!I've been running around a lot getting used to everything. many new things to digest. bottomline, I'm having a lot of fun.so, where should I start?..ok, basically, I came here to see if the place could be another "home" - so to speak. now, it's only been about 2 days since I got here. but I would have to say that - so far, I'm sold on the place.what is it that got me to think this way, you ask?let's see..1) pretty girls,2) inexpensive food, and lodging,3) good internet access,4) can go to school here without paying megabucks.the only thing negative that I can see so far is - there is no cable tv like hbo, cinemax, etc. BUT someone told me that they do have it here, but I just haven't seen it yet. they have a lobby here somewhat like the one I hang out in in bangk...
More About: China , Back

it's howdy doody time.
2008-05-25 02:45:00
the day has finally arrived. the trip is about to begin. over in the corner of my room are 2 pieces of luggage. one carryon, and one checkin. I think I am ready.just a couple of more chores to complete before leaving for the airport. haircut, and a call to my credit card. last thing I want to happen is for my credit card company to stop cash withdrawals from the atm. so, need to call them to let them know where I'm going and approximately how much money I will be spending. hopefully, with this advance info on hand in their database, they won't put a stop on my credit card when I use it.other than that, I am ready. leaving for the airport 4 hours before departure. I leave an hour earlier than most people because I take the local bus. 35 baht one way to the airport. good deal.I told the watcher I would meet him at the airport. so, I need to text him a few hours before I leave.well, with all that said and done, not much else to do but implement.time for a shower, then, o...
More About: Time

indiana jones.
2008-05-24 06:17:00
on the itinerary for today includes seeing that new movie - indiana jones. and another trip to pantip plaza. a load of laundry. and probably one last night hanging out at the lobby before leaving for china tomorrow.one of the things I want to do when I get to china is - check out 2 universities there. both have semester programs for studying mandarin. costs are reasonable. so, I am somewhat interested.my buddy, the fist, in hong kong tells me that one of his friends lives there in shenzhen. so, he could be a source of information for me.living in china for part of the year is still up in the air. not sure if it will materialize. but then, that is what this trip is for. to explore that possibility.I see china as a new world to explore. between studying, checking out all the malls, the nitelife, and venturing over to the hometown of my father, there should be many things to do that will keep me busy, busy.keeping my fingers crossed. let's hope the chemistry is there betwee...
More About: Indiana , Indiana Jones , Jones

taco night.
2008-05-23 02:50:00
the big event yesterday was going over to the watcher's place and chowing down on tacos. hawaiian bob, mike jagger, yours truly, and the watcher attending.afterwards, the watcher took care of some "business". so, the rest of us went over to the lobby to hang out. as soon as we got to the lobby, this huge cloud burst came down upon us. talk about perfect timing. another minute, and we would have gotten soaked.the rain sort of ruined the rest of the night for me. so, I went home early. but mike jagger and hawaiian bob didn't seem to mind the rain. they are like fish.along the way home, I bumped into long time jessie, and the silver surfer.others that I saw hanging out tonight include the barber, the bookkeeper, timberwolf, lady puu, jacques cousteau, and alec baldwin.it's only about 8am right now, and I am still tired. so, it's back to sleep for me. when I wake up, I think I'll go hang out at pantip plaza for a spell.
More About: Night

home, Home on the range...
2008-05-21 21:01:00
where the deer and the lounge lizards play.. today was another one of those days where I just stayed home. cooked a big pot of rice porridge like my college friend, lo fau, used to do when we prepared to play mahjong.all I did for the whole day was sip on that "joke" as I watched tv and played computer games.the life.no worries. no headaches. no stress.it's about 2am in the morning right now. just got a text from the watcher. it's taco night. time to meet - 6pm. ...plenty of time for sleep and doing nothing.over in the corner of my room is my pack for the china trip - all packed and ready to go.barnaby sent me a text. he's in town. but alas, I have no desire to move. no desire to do anything but lounge in bed. the frig is full. and I have 2 five gallon bottles of water to take care of my water needs.what is the word for my state of being, you ask?content.home, Home on the range, where the girls and the lounge lizards play...where never is heard a discouraging word, and...
More About: Range

Got my visa for China!!!!
2008-05-20 23:46:00
the big event of the day was - I GOT MY VISA!!! YEA!!!!I got to the chinese embassy here in bangkok at around 9am. they open at 9am. the number of people waiting in line was very small. only about 30 people. no crowds, no waiting for an hour or so. after I got the visa, I looked at it for a moment and thought to myself - china, here I come. hehehe. the watcher called me later on, and told me he received his visa too. so, we are now preparing for the trip in earnest.I left the embassy at around 9:30am and went up to the street to do some window shopping at the carrefour located near there. ate a small snack at the food court. and then went back home to make scans of my new china visa to store on the internet. just in case I lose the passport for some reason. (heaven forbid).actually, now that I think about it, it may be a good idea for me to scan every page in my passport and store it up on the internet for backup. wouldn't hurt. and with online storage as cheap as it ...
More About: China , Visa

cars running on hydrogen.
2008-05-20 01:07:00
have you heard about the latest technology coming down the pipeline on cars running on hydrogen?well, it seems some group of people have come up with a new technology that resolves the problem of storing hydrogen for use in a car that runs on hydrogen.people have debated and even written books on the subject saying that hydrogen cannot be the wave of the future replacing oil because of the storage problem.http://www.oriononline.org/pages/ oo/sidebars/front/index_Flannery.htmlhttp ://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/05/ethanol -versus-solar-energy/in 2008, we are now told of a thinktank coming out with what could be the answer resolving this storage problem.ENTER - the C.En. hydrogen tank.http://www.democraticunderground.com /discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&addr ess=115x137687http://www.hydrogencarsnow. com/blog2/index.php/category/hydrogen-sto rage/http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/pr eview.php?id=19289http://www.planetark.or g/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/46720/story.h tmhttp://www.hydrogencarsn...
More About: Cars , Running , Hydrogen

back on solar..
2008-05-18 06:20:00
I haven't talked about solar technology in a while. so, I went back and did some research to see what is the latest up and coming stuff.after reading some 60 articles out there, I came across something that I thought would be interesting for everybody to read...infiniacorp is coming out with a new product (finally) that will produce 3kW by the end of this year. infiniacorp is the same outfit that was suppose to come out with a product with oegy using their suncone technology last year. but that didn't pan out. ..so, now we have this upcoming venture.the big question - is it legit? you tell me.for those of you who are not familiar with the implications of a home based 3 kW solar device that you can build in your backyard. basically, 3 kW is the amount of electricity that your average house consumes in one day.whether this new gig will work, I don't know. but I have my fingers crossed. the world needs something like this right about now especially with oil at over 128 dollars a bar...
More About: Solar , Back

my thoughts on life and death.
2008-05-17 17:39:00
last night while hanging out with some of the lounge lizards, one of the lounge lizards told me non-chalantly that he had an angioplasty operation done on him recently. when he told me this, I looked into his eyes, and saw just how seriously it affected him.this was heavy duty stuff to him.when I asked him how he felt about the operation, he sort of tried to hide the fact that he was scared. but I learned long ago that you cannot hide the truth when you look into someones eyes.not wanting to dive too deeply into my friends feelings, I left him with bangkokbuddy's story about the "boeing study on life".in a nutshell, for every year you work after age 55, you lose 2 years of your life.http://www.seeya-downtheroad.com/Inf ormationPage/WhyRetireYoung.htmlover the years, there has been a lot of discussions about the validity of this study. and I always tell people this... the fact that so many people and institutions fight so hard to de-legitimize the study - tells me that there must be ...
More About: Life , My Thoughts , Thoughts , Death , Life and Death